The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1887-12-01
A sAvANT ON DANCING.
German Philosopher Talks--Thc Old
Pagan Dances- Moral Health

German Philosopher Talks-Tho Old
Pagan Damees-Moral Health.
NJ. Bohne, in his history of German
dancing and its future, observes: Man
ol,ly knows dancing. !" The bear dance does
nOt count because it has no psychic inn
pulsion." Why do we dance? he demands.
Ninety per cent. do SO for amusement, 8
to secure substitute for vapOr Lath,
and l for the love of aesthetics. But
lancing is also marriage broker, sort
If matrimonial agency. However, the
lance is also a civilizing agent With
our ancestors nature meant only music
md dances, which, too were attributed
TO the gods. The author states the old
Germans were a dancing people; modern
Germans are not, and that YOU can travel
two months in Germany without perceiv-
ing a waltzer; whereas, voyage but eight
lays in Spain, fandanGos will be visible
everywhere. The demon of dance scizes
the Spaniards i'll the streets, on the public
places, under the porches of houses. The
irst musician who arrives and can touch
guitar will compel the servant to throw
away her broom, the water carriers to
lay down their pitchers, the muleteers
will abandon their mules, and the inn
keeper will quit his dinner-to dance all
with soul and body. The Spaniards have
always foot in the air ready to spring;
80 had once the old Germans, and SO
much so that their bishops had the greatest
difficulty to prevent their focks dancing
in the churches-thus initiating the early
Christians.
However, sacred dancing was only a
form for expressing great joy. Renan
maintains dancing never figured in the
Christian liturgy, and NJ. de Pressense
lgrees-for once-with Renan. Indeed
the church had much difficulty to sup
press the old pagan dances. Bishops and
princes thundered against them, but the
votaries up to the Twelfth century held
their dances at night in the cemeteries
where they had the stimuli of mystery,
the fear of being surprised and the feel
ing that they were doing wrong. In the
Sixteenth century Germany had singu
lar "death dance" executed at wedding
parties. Lots were drawn to find the in
dividual who was to die; the doomed one
oIOOu III CCllICA vi LliC AOOAlB
others danced round and the individual
after while staggered, fell became
dead. All stopped, then the dancers
chanted pretty dirge-a funeral hymn.
If the departed was a man, each girl
came one by one and kissed him on the
forehead, and vice versa if woman:
with the last death kiss he rose, the music
played gay air and the triumphal ronde
surrounded the resurrectionist.
The real creators of that queen OF
dances, the waltz, were the Viennese
and they monopolize it still. 1t is thus
that Musset wrote: II would like
French duchess to be able to dance ai
well as German cattle drover." NJ.
Bohne believes dancing is dying, if not
dead. The workmen are debilitated by
factory life and soured by socialism. The
SONS of the rich are worn out by excess,
by hot bed lessons and examinations
educational pressure, perhaps. Piety, too,
has departed, for trne piety made no per-
son sad; wine and beer are adulterated;
people do not now get intoxicated, but
poisoned. In fact, the moral health of
moderns is less good than that of their
ancestors, who were more patient under
suffering, more brave in the struggle of
life, because less egotistical. We arc de-
voted only to ourselves.-Toronto Week.